At the appointed time, Ayanokouji Kiyohira arrived at the theater hall where the concert was being held. With just a glance, he quickly spotted Yumemi and the others.
Most of the audience present were male. Among a group of boys, Yumemi and the other girls stood out significantly.
They sat on the sofas in the corner, holding popcorn and cola, with a pile of snacks bought from the outdoor festival on the table. They were eating, drinking, and chatting, as if they had turned the place into a gathering spot for sisters.
Seeing Ayanokouji Kiyohira walking towards them, Yumemi put down her popcorn and waved at him with a smile: "Ayanokoji, you're here!"
"You all came quite early. I originally thought you'd only arrive when it was time to check tickets later…" Ayanokouji Kiyohira walked over to them and casually picked up a small bread to eat.
Ayanokoji originally thought he had arrived early, but he didn't expect the girls to be even earlier.
"We were at the festival all morning. We thought there might be a lot of people at the concert in the afternoon, so to avoid queuing, we didn't go to a restaurant to eat. We just brought some snacks here to wait. Who knew there wouldn't be many people at all?"
Kurume Kurumi, sitting nearby, crossed her legs, rested her head on one hand, and sighed listlessly: "I thought Yumemi, as a Student Council member, would create a huge spectacle, but now the performance is about to start, and there aren't even a hundred people in the entire hall. All that promotion for this outcome, huh?"
It was 2:30 PM, and the performance was scheduled to start at 3:00 PM. Ticket checks would begin in fifteen minutes.
Generally speaking, to attend a "concert," one would usually arrive at the venue some time in advance to wait, but currently, there were fewer than a hundred people in the hall.
It was clear that most people were not particularly interested in the content of such a performance; they had only bought tickets for certain reasons.
"After all, this is her first concert, so it's normal for not many people to have high expectations." Ayanokouji Kiyohira shrugged, explaining for Yumemi.
He had already anticipated this kind of scene.
Yumemi was a "teen idol" with some recognition. If she were performing in places like Akihabara or Shibuya, many people would likely show up to support her.
But she had too few fans in this school. The students here were not her fan base, so it was already quite a gesture for them to buy tickets and come.
Ayanokouji Kiyohira looked at Yumemi and the others; all of them were there. Besides Kurume and Ruribird, even Ririka was present.
Noticing Ayanokoji's gaze, Ririka's eyes couldn't help but flinch away.
After all, the two had just met that morning, and she had even caused that 'catching in the act' drama, but not only did she fail to catch anyone, she ended up embarrassing herself instead.
Now, seeing Ayanokouji Kiyohira, she felt truly guilty.
She originally wanted to turn her head away as if nothing had happened, but who knew that Ayanokouji Kiyohira would actively greet her at this moment, asking with concern, "Anna, weren't you feeling unwell? How are you now? Have you rested well?"
Ririka, like a startled little rabbit, looked up in a panic, her face flushed, and nodded repeatedly, "I'm already fine...!"
Meari looked at the two in surprise, not understanding why Ayanokoji would suddenly ask that.
Had the two met that morning?
"Oh, Anna moved to the room opposite my hotel room. This morning, when she was greeting me, she suddenly felt a stomach ache. I was a bit concerned about her health."
Ayanokouji Kiyohira explained the situation as if he were talking about a very ordinary matter.
"Anna, what's wrong with your body?" Meari looked at Ririka with concern.
Ririka was her good friend, so of course she cared about her friend's health.
"I'm fine! I just caught a cold last night because the air conditioning was too low. I took some medicine and rested for a while, and I'm already better!"
"That's good..." Meari felt relieved, then hesitantly asked the question that had been bothering her, "Anna... are you currently staying at the school hotel?"
Seeing Ririka's flushed face and flustered explanation, Ayanokouji Kiyohira secretly chuckled in his heart.
You came to my room to 'catch me in the act,' and now you're the one who's in a sorry state, aren't you?
Ririka still used the same excuse she told Ayanokoji, saying that she would be very busy during the Ryōran Festival, so she simply rented a room at the hotel, and it just so happened that the room was opposite Ayanokoji's room...
Even Hanatemari felt that this kind of talk was a bit unusual and couldn't help but look up at Ayanokoji with a questioning gaze, but Meari didn't suspect anything at all, she just nodded and sighed that it was such a coincidence.
In terms of 'love,' Meari was truly very slow, never even thinking that her 'good sister' would try to make a move before her.
This could also be considered a preconceived notion. From her perspective, Ririka met Ayanokoji through her, and she subconsciously assumed that Ririka stayed for her sake.
The main reason was that her thoughts were all focused on Ayanokouji Kiyohira and her obvious rival, Miharu Taki Sakura. She completely failed to notice the 'enemies all around' her.
Ayanokouji Kiyohira watched their conversation with a spectator's mentality. When he picked up another bag of potato chips, he suddenly saw Hanatemari pouting and glaring at him angrily.
After meeting Ayanokouji Kiyohira's gaze, Hanatemari suddenly stood up and said she was going to the restroom, then as she passed Ayanokouji Kiyohira, she quietly made a gesture to him, indicating for him to follow her.
Ayanokoji followed behind Hanatemari, walked out of the hall, and stopped in a quiet, deserted corridor, then turned around and glared at Ayanokoji, saying nothing.
Ayanokoji saw that Hanatemari's hair was a bit messy and wanted to help her comb it, but his hand was slapped away halfway. She didn't say anything, just stared at Ayanokoji angrily.
"What's wrong?" Ayanokouji Kiyohira was a bit puzzled, "Why are you angry?"
"You still ask me what's wrong? Ayanokoji, what exactly is going on?" Hanatemari put her hands on her hips, snorted coldly, and questioned, "When did you get involved with Anna again?"
Ayanokouji Kiyohira was dumbfounded and explained, "You're wrong, I have nothing to do with her. It's really as she said, we're just neighbors. She just greeted me this morning."
"Is that really true? How can I believe it's such a coincidence? Why are your rooms so close? Isn't this convenient for you to meet at night?" Hanatemari didn't believe Ayanokoji's explanation at all.
She had been to Ayanokoji's hotel several nights these past few days and knew the guest room situation. Logically, his floor was already full, so how could an empty room suddenly appear?
Unless that room had been reserved long ago!
"I don't know about that. After all, I didn't book the room. You'll have to ask Anna." Ayanokoji shrugged, helplessly.
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